What is lead generation?
Lead generation is about getting potential customers interested in your services/products by gradually guiding them through a so-called funnel or sales funnel to ensure they become paying customers. In a digital landscape with very limited time to influence potential customers, modern lead generation might look like this:
- Tailored marketing with a personalized message
- Consistent messaging across multiple channels
- Focus on educating the customer about your services
- Facilitate a meaningful relationship between company and customer
When we talk about the quality of incoming leads, we usually distinguish between “Marketing Qualified Leads” and “Sales Qualified Leads.” Read more about leads here!
Benefits of lead generation:
- Content marketing. 85% of B2B marketers say that lead generation is their most important marketing objective related to content marketing. (Ring Lead, 2017)
- Revenue. By building a solid strategy for lead generation, you can convert potential customers into paying customers.
- Content relevance. By reaching potential customers with content that is relevant to their context and position in the sales funnel, you can reap benefits such as increased conversion rates.
Disadvantages of lead generation:
- Engagement. A solid lead generation strategy depends on strong collaboration between departments. If stakeholders across departments are not engaged in the project, the lead generation strategy can fail.
- Definitions. Defining key KPIer such as ROI can be challenging. Should you only look at the increased revenue from new customers, or should you also include customer service and thereby upsell from existing customers?
- Conversions. Even large volumes of high-quality leads cannot ensure a steady increase in revenue if your services/products do not meet your customers’ needs.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What are some examples of lead generation? Email campaigns, content marketing, personalized marketing, or live events.
Who needs to generate leads? Both B2C and B2B need lead generation to identify potential customers and convert them into paying customers. For B2B, lead generation helps you reach a more targeted audience and manage longer sales funnels. Lead generation also helps build brand loyalty and nurture emotional relationships with customers.
Why are leads important? Lead generation helps build trust, visibility, and, not least, credibility – especially with those who are interested in your products/services. It also helps drive high-quality traffic that can later be converted into sales. For more information about a marketing strategy that uses lead generation, read our inbound marketing guide here:
